Gun Control ≠ Gun Safety

There seems to be an effort going on either in the media or within the gun prohibitionist camp to portray their efforts at gun control and gun banning as gun safety.

Case in point - Jackie Calmes of the New York Times. In her article published Tuesday noting that the NRA was declining to meet with President Obama for his so-called stakeholder's meeting on gun issues, she referred to the gun control groups as either gun safety advocates or gun safety groups.

From the lead paragraph:

More than two months after the Tucson shootings, the administration is calling together both the gun lobby and gun safety groups to find common ground.

Later, speaking about Mayor Bloomberg and his group of Illegal Mayors, she said:

But gun safety advocates, including a group of mayors headed by Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, called on Mr. Obama to do more, including endorsing legislation to ban high-capacity magazines like those used in the Arizona attack.

I find calling a group like the Brady Campaign a "gun safety" group highly ironic given their rabid opposition to one of the best and tested gun safety programs around. That is, the Eddie Eagle program. Likewise, the Violence Policy Center has opposed the Eddie Eagle gun safety program likening it to "Joe Camel with Feathers".

Gun control groups are not now nor have they ever been anything that could be remotely called a gun safety group. However, I think we will see them trying to reposition themselves as such in an effort to try and make up all their lost ground with the public. We need to call them and their media allies out on it every time we see or hear that claim.